Review of the University of Colorado Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by a Panel of the National Academy of Sciences

4I
as quickla-% as ýposslible aft-er- a reported, sighting. (-It was founid
thaf near:Ly afl. cases cu d ib lssified in such -categories as
- -~ pr nksý, hoaxes., nav itrptations,.and various typs of is
-interpretatiobns. A few- events; whic did-not fit thesýe categories,
aire lef t, unexplainied.-
iNat~rilals and conditions OrenabJle to laboratory ,approaclies
werea investig~ted c,, alleged` UFO parts by chemical: .4nalysis,
,WUtomoliilei ignition f~,lAre by simulation studids,j and -UtO photography
by ihotog anumet~ieic alyscs. (O 5potographic. cases investigated,,
nine are sýaid 'to givee'Vi.dence, of probable fabrication, seven are
clas~ified a's niatur-alor;-M~an-'mddc pheriom na', twelve provided in-
ýsuif i'cit dat oraa*ssnd seven were considered to be
possible fabrications:nn.poe-ob"ra jctwihig
strangenes~s. 1);rnepod-tberelobeswthig
technibal-ly traine~d pers6nnel We're utilized by the Univer~ity.
the Universi`ty :group- included' a s4ub-group on fibld inivestigations I
of UFO re'ports;, their'nai ration- and -interpretations.'of cas~bs 6re-
reasonable and, adequate,. Lead ing,groups werCe engaged ýuncl&' contract
for specialized vibrk -- egS'vnfoitd Research Institute on radar,
anomalies and a subsidiary.'of the Raytheon Corporation for photo-
granupbtric analyses. Divergent vi~ews of those few scientists-,who
'have looked; into UFOs welod taken* into, account. -The, history of the
subject' was -also surveyed i including-the ex-periences in,sore other
thations. F~inallyj extensive,use was made of many specialists in
various public 'and private l'aboratories.-
to- The Report makes cJleai thiat with the,-best means at our dis-
pos~l p6sitivib cor~relation :of all UFO reports with identifiable, V
-known~ pýhnomeM, is iiot' poss"ible. No ýstudy, past, -curr~nt oi" ,future,
-can provideý the basis for statinfg categorically that a 'familiar
phenomenhon wi-il 'nedessawiy be -linka&ble .to'e'very sighting.. 'The
~Report is" free of dogmoatisrivo this" mdtter. It is also clear,
'as one goes through the descriptions of UFO sightings-, whether in
-the,Report. or lin, Other litýe'ratu re, that -while som~e incide'nts.,have jno psitive identification wit faIla pheniomena', they also have,
;no Positive,'idenittfication,with ýextrater~restrial visitors or 'artifacts.
We think the methodblogy and approa6h, weie we~ll chosen, in
III. 'FINDINGS'
Th' ýStudy concludes (a)'that ab6ut 90 pe.rcent of al~l UFO
r~ots 'prov to qiePl~aus ibly related to" ordinary plienomcnia,
,(b") th'atli'ttle -ifanything has come from the study of UPOs in"the
past -21 ycaf-r-s that has added to scient~ific knowledge, and (c) that
furth.-jr extansi~'o study of UFO si htings -is not. justi~fiedl in theýý